Gaza official: Israeli fire kills Palestinian

Published: January 24, 2014 10:50AM

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) -- A Palestinian health official says Israeli fire has killed a man and wounded another in the Gaza Strip.

Gaza health ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Kidra says the two men were shot near the border with Israel. He identified the man killed as Samir Awidia, a 22-year-old civilian. Kidra said the circumstances behind the violence Friday were not clear.

The Israeli military said the shooting happened after dozens of Palestinians hurled rocks and rolled burning tires toward soldiers at the border. The military said soldiers fired warning shots into the air before shooting at the Palestinians.

After a period of relative calm, violence has spiked in recent weeks along the Gaza-Israel border. This week Israel killed a key Gaza militant it blamed for a wave of rocket attacks.